Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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2000 A.D TES, my dear ' said Granny, removing her left eye, ' ' times have greatly changed since I was young, ' ' and she looked fondly at the eye she held in her hand with the one still left in her head. ' ' Take for instance this, she said as she held out the eye. When I was young, my mother wore things called glasses, which were held in place by means of hooks, over the ears, or else they were pinched on to the nose. Terribly uncomfortable things they were and always falling off and breaking. Of course youVe all seen a pair in the Museum. But I musn ' t waste time reminiscing for I have promised your mother that I will have lunch with her in Spain and then we are going on to Venice for the Water Carnival. Oh, dear! there ' s the bell again. Dorothy will you answer the radio, please? Five minutes later back came Dorothy with a message for her grandmother. Mother is in Mexico, Granny, and she wants you to meet her there instead. She said there is a sale of air cars at one of the large roof stores and she thinks you might see something you ' d like, as yours is terribly out of date. You know you ' ve almost had it a year now. Just then in dashed John, who thought he was quite a man of the world, having just turned eighteen. He was dressed in skin ' tight, kneedength trousers and a short sleeveless coat, which also fitted him rather snugly. His legs were bare as were his arms, but his feet were protected by sandaMike shoes. Hello, everyone! he cried. Try and guess where I ' ve been. Oh, said Dot indignantly. You ' ve been swimming at Wai ' ki ' ki Beach again. You know mother said you were to keep away from those Hawaiian boys. Just wait till I tell her. All right, said John, not a bit abashed. Then I ' ll tell her what you did last night. Children, children, interrupted Granny. If the customs have changed a great deal since I was young, it is plain to be seen the younger generation still gives as much trouble as ever. Yes, continued John, not noticing the interruption; I ' ll tell her that you flew down to Argentine last night and entered the Round Hop contest at Buenos Aires. Oh! gasped Dot, How do you know, for I didn ' t tell a soul? You see, sister darling, John replied in a very superior voice, yesterday morning I was in a great hurry and my knowledge pills got mixed up and I happened to take a double dose of those pmk ones. You know the kind you take in the morning so you can know what ' s going to happen to yourself through the day? I don ' t see what that has to do with me, cried Dot impatiently. About six o ' clock last night, continued her brother, I happened to say to myself ' I wonder where Dot is, ' and then a picture of you flashed into my mind. You were seated in your flycar and you were speeding too. Yes, I know it, for you had on your red feather coat. So I decided to watch and see where you went. Of course it was rather a surprise to be able to see you, but remembering the pills, I put it down to that. But what did you want me for? curiously enquired Dot. At this point Granny rejoined the conversation. I see by the morning ' s paper, that they are trying to revive some of the lovely old dances of my girlhood. At this, groans were heard from both her grandchildren. They were beautiful, she remonstrated, and much more dignified than the dances of to- day. Take for instance the Charleston, what could be more graceful than that? And she started to jump around in the most peculiar manner. Granny, advised John, to-morrow morning, first thing, you fly over to Paris and be reju- venated. You ' re getting old. Goodness! gasped Granny. If I ' d said that when I was young I ' d have been well spanked, and deserved it too, and if I had time I ' d scold you, but I must hasten away and meet your mother. Marian Zealand, Form Lower VI. [22 1

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The Possibilities of a Minute k MINUTE is not a very great space of time, to be exact just sixty seconds ; yet many of us realize, through experience, that a minute has possibilities of which an ordinary mortal would never dream. In an old nursery rhyme we read: ' ' How doth the busy little bee Improve each shining minute? ' ' Bees, gentle reader, are not the only creatures who improve the minutes! List to the experiences of a day girl at Trafalgar. You are lying in bed, dreaming of carefree vacation days, when you awaken with a start, and find to your dismay that you have overslept. A dive out of bed — then a feverish ten minutes of dressing ensues, punctuated with little wails of Oh dear, TU be late! You gulp down your breakfast, grab your books, and with another frantic glance at your watch, dash out of the house. As you are halfway up the street, you see a street car rapidly advancing, and realize that you will miss it unless you make a hundred yard dash. You begin to run, clutching at your coat, remembering even in your hurry, that you are wearing a decidedly short gym. tunic. Faster — faster — faster — until your breath almost gives out — but making a final effort, you reach the car just in time and clamber on board, while a triumphant smile spreads itself for a moment over your anxious countenance. ■ Are the cars ever as slow as when one is late? They seem to stop at every corner, and to crawl along with the speed of a snail. It is all that you can do to concentrate your mind on a bit of last minute work in Latin, for an irresistible attraction draws your eyes to your wrist watch. At last you alight from the car, and now a walk awaits you. You glance at your watch — ten minutes to nine — a sinking feeling pervades you. Then, wrap ' ping your coat firmly about you, you set off with grim determination, running up the street; not heeding the jocose remarks of the passers-by, who appear to believe that you are training for a race. The minutes are slipping by, and, putting forth every effort, you toil up the hill. Panting, you reach the school gates. Now you begin to have a presentiment that the bell has rung. All seems quiet. There is a moment of suspense as you open the door. Then — oh blessed relief! — -a distant hum of conversation reaches your ears. But the struggle is not yet over. You hurry to the cloakroom, and feel alarmed once again when you find it deserted. Off comes your coat, and just as you reach for your running shoes, the bell clangs. There is not a moment to be lost! The running shoes are put on hastily, and you dash up the stairs with the laces dragging. Your line has started up to prayers, but by sheer good luck you catch up your Bible and Hymn Book, and join them just as they enter the Assembly Hall. You march in serenely — regardless of the trailing laces — with a smile on your face that is beautiful to behold — a smile of victory! It ' s the minutes that count, you say some day at recess in a sage way; ' ' they have great possibilities! O. Mary Hill, Form Upper V. [21]

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In Pursuit of Knowledge The Ross Lectures HAD you been abroad between three and three-thirty on the afternoon of May 12th, you might have seen a strange procession wending its way along Sherbrooke Street. It consisted of a winding file of girls, walking in pairs, with here and there a mistress. If you were curious enough to inquire who these young girls were, you would have learned that the Trafalgar girls were on their way to a lecture at McGill. It would have been quite true — we were going to hear Dr. Eve speak to us on ' ' Sound. ' ' When we arrived at McGill, it took some time to have us all placed, and we were as carefully packed as sardines. When everyone was seated, Dr. Eve began. He spoke first on the senses, and told us what marvellous messages the brain sends to different parts of the body. The senses serve as danger signals, he said. He next showed us eight pieces of wood, of exactly the same length and breadth, but when they were dropped on the table the tones emitted were those of the notes of the scale. Arranging these pieces in a slightly different manner, and dropping them one after the other, he played ' ' God save the King. This was explained by the fact that although the pieces were all of the same length and breadth, they were of different thicknesses. The next experiments were made with tuning forks, and were of various kinds, illustrative of the quality of sound. Then followed experiments with strings, explaining the principle of the violin. The room was now darkened, and we were shown lantern slides, dealing with vibra- tions and reactions. The last and certainly the most interesting experiment was that showing the vibration of the human voice. A very complicated apparatus had been arranged, whereby, by means of a light reflecting on a screen and connected with a phonograph, we saw the actual vibrations of the human voice. To illustrate it further. Dr. Eve called up Sam, his assistant, and commanded him to sing. Poor Sam! We all pitied him, but he did his duty manfully, and did not show his embarrassment. At the close of the lecture, we all rose, gave a hearty cheer for Dr. Eve, and then dispersed. We returned on Friday morning to hear him lecture on Colour. If the first lecture was interesting, the last was fascinating. He began by teUing us something of light, and by means of carefully placed mirrors he illustrated reflection and refraction. Then Dr. Eve showed us numerous other beautiful experiments. He illustrated how light becomes broken up when passing through a prism, and throwing a beautiful reflection on the screen he explained the colours. Pink, red, and white flowers were placed in the different colours, and we observed that the shade of the flowers changed, the red becoming almost black when placed near any colour but red, the white taking any colour, and the pink changing slightly. This experiment was repeated in a slightly different manner. On a prism- shaped stand, different lights were focused. When the flowers were placed in these lights they reacted in much the same way. The next experiment was one that Dr. Eve said he could not explain very clearly. A certain metal, found in Iceland, had some power over colours. To illustrate this, he flashed several pictures upon the screen, and they changed colour before our eyes. Newton ' s experiment with the revolv- ing disc was not forgotten, in which the colours, when the disc is moved, seem to blend into a grayish white. This was again illustrated on the screen, and it was as beautiful as one could wish to see. An exceedingly good joke was played upon one of our schoolmates. Dr. Eve gave her three carnations, and asked her to put them in a vase at the other side of the room. She walked over, but when she came to the vase she put out her hand to take something out but found nothing there. It seems that when one was in the right focus a most beautiful red rose was so reflected in the vase that it seemed to be growing there.. Everyone had a look afterwards at the pretty rose, and it was certainly a marvellous illu ' ion. [23]